Rocking Toy Device

ABSTRACT

A rocking toy device includes an occupant frame locating a pair of seats spaced apart from one another in a longitudinal direction thereon. A base frame supports the occupant frame both for rolling movement along the ground and for rocking movement about a rocking axis oriented perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction.

This application claims foreign priority benefits from Canadian Patent Application 2,531,016, filed Dec. 7, 2005.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a rocking toy device in which two users sit on opposite sides of a rocking axis for rocking motion together relative to the ground about the rocking axis, and more particularly the invention relates to the rocking toy device being supported for rolling movement along the ground.

BACKGROUND

A common toy device for children comprises a rocking toy, known as a seesaw or a teeter totter, in which two seats are provided at opposite ends of a rocking frame supported for rocking motion about a rocking axis centrally located between the two occupant seats. The rocking axis is typically fixed relative to the ground so that the occupants are alternately lifted off the ground as the rocking frame rocks about the rocking axis. Due to the limited movement restricted to rocking motion about the rocking axis, children can quickly lose interest with conventional rocking toys.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,954,588 to Lien, 5,011,133 to Myers Sr., 3,840,226 to Sharp and 6,383,083 to Johnston disclose various examples of rocking related toys arranged for more complex movements than a conventional rocking toy. In general however the motion remains constrained about a limited number of axes and the base remains fixed relative to the ground. Movement therefore remains largely repetitive and can still cause children to lose interest quickly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a rocking toy device comprising:

an occupant frame extending in a longitudinal direction;

two occupant seats supported on the occupant frame spaced from one another in the longitudinal direction of the occupant frame; and

a base frame supporting the occupant frame thereon, the base frame including wheels supporting the base frame for rolling movement along the ground;

the occupant frame being supported on the base frame such that the occupant frame rocks about a rocking axis relative to the ground in which the rocking axis is generally horizontal, is transverse to the longitudinal direction of the occupant frame and is centrally located between the 2 occupant seats.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a rocking toy device comprising:

an occupant frame extending in a longitudinal direction;

two occupant seats supported on the occupant frame spaced from one another in the longitudinal direction of the occupant frame; and

a base frame supporting the occupant frame thereon, the base frame including wheels supporting the base frame for rolling movement along the ground;

the occupant frame being supported on the base frame such that the occupant frame rocks about a rocking axis relative to the ground in which the rocking axis is generally horizontal is transverse to the longitudinal direction of the occupant frame and is fixed in orientation relative to the occupant frame centrally between the 2 occupant seats.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a rocking toy device comprising:

an occupant frame extending in a longitudinal direction;

two occupant seats supported on the occupant frame spaced from one another in the longitudinal direction of the occupant frame; and

a base frame supporting the occupant frame in fixed relative orientation thereon, the base frame including wheels supporting the base frame for rolling movement along the ground;

the wheels being rotatable about a common axis which is generally horizontal, is transverse to the longitudinal direction of the occupant frame and is centrally located between the two occupant seats such that the common axis defines a rocking axis about which the occupant frame rocks relative to the ground.

By providing a base supported for rolling movement along the ground in addition to an occupant frame which rocks about a rocking axis, various combinations of movement including rocking about a horizontal axis, pivoting about a vertical axis or linear translation along the ground are permitted, along with any combination thereof so that children maintain their interest for long periods of time due to the large variety of possible movement. By fixing the rocking axis relative to the occupant frame and by further commonly locating the rocking axis coaxial with the axis of the wheels, a simple construction results while maintaining the large variety of possible movement to amuse the occupants of the rocking toy device.

The base frame and the occupant frame may be fixed in orientation relative to one another with the wheels being rotatable about respective axes coaxial with the rocking axis of the occupant frame.

Preferably the base frame and the occupant frame are joined with threaded fasteners so as to be selectively separable from one another.

The base frame may be elongate in a lateral direction oriented generally perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the occupant frame.

The wheels on the base frame are preferably spaced apart from one another in a lateral direction oriented generally perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the occupant frame.

The wheels are rotatable about respective axes which are preferably fixed in orientation in relation to the base frame.

The wheels support the base frame for rolling movement along the ground in the longitudinal direction of the occupant frame.

The wheels are preferably rotatable about a common lateral axis which is oriented generally perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the occupant frame, which is centered in the longitudinal direction between the two occupant seats and which is fixed in orientation relative to the occupant frame.

Preferably the occupant seats are supported at opposing ends of the occupant frame and oriented to face one another.

The wheels may include brakes associated respectively therewith in which the brakes of each wheel are operative independently of the brakes of other wheels and wherein controls for the brakes are provided adjacent each occupant seat.

When two wheels support the base frame for rolling movement along the ground, each wheel preferably includes brakes associated therewith and a control for operating the brakes in which one control is located adjacent one of the occupant seats and the other control is located adjacent the other occupant seat.

One embodiment of the invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the device

FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are side elevational and end elevational views of the device respectively,

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the device.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to the accompanying figures there is illustrated a rocking toy device generally indicated by reference numeral 10. The device 10 permits a pair of occupants to be supported for rocking motion and rolling movement along the ground at the same time.

The device 10 includes an occupant frame 12 which is elongate in a longitudinal direction of rolling movement of the device. The occupant frame 12 comprises a truss including an elongate beam 14 extending the length of the frame in the longitudinal direction along the bottom side thereof. A center post 16 extends vertically upward from the beam 14 in fixed relation therewith centered between the opposing ends of the beam. A pair of struts 18 are joined between the center post 16, spaced above the beam, the respective free ends 20 of the frame.

An occupant seat 22 is supported at each of the free ends 20 so as to be spaced from one another in the longitudinal direction of the occupant frame. The seats each comprise a bicycle type seat permitting free movement of the legs on opposing sides of the seat. The seats are oriented to face inwardly towards one another on respective seat posts 24 extending upwardly from the free ends 20 of the occupant frame respectively.

Handle posts 26 also extend upwardly from opposing free ends 20 of the occupant frame spaced inwardly towards one another in relation to the respective seat posts 24. Each of the two handle posts 26 supports a handle bar 28 oriented perpendicularly across the top end thereof so as to be also oriented perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the occupant frame. The handle bar 28 is bolted to the handle post 26 for selective separation thereof. When mounted, the handle bar 28 is positioned within arms reach of the respective occupant seat to permit an occupant on the seat to grasp the handle bar 28 with their hands.

The device 10 further includes a base frame 30 upon which the occupant frame is fixed in relative orientation thereon. The base frame 30 also comprises a truss and includes an upper beam 32 and a lower beam 34 oriented parallel and spaced one above the other. A center post 36 joins the beams 32 and 34 centrally between opposing ends thereof along with diagonal struts 38 connected between the beams for added structural rigidity, The construction of the beams ensures that the base frame 30 is elongate in a lateral direction which is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the occupant frame.

The occupant frame 12 and the base frame 30 are fixed to one another using threaded fasteners so that the frames remain selectively separable from one another by simply removing the fasteners.

Two wheels 40 are mounted on the base frame 30 at opposing ends thereof. The wheels are supported for rotation about a common wheel axis 42 oriented in the lateral direction, perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the occupant frame 12. The common axis 42 is centrally located between the occupant seats 22 in the longitudinal direction of the occupant frame with the wheels being fixed in orientation to support the frames for rolling movement in the longitudinal direction. The wheels 40 are spaced apart in a lateral direction from opposing sides of a vertical plane locating the occupant frame and seats therein. The common axis 42 thus defines a rocking axis coaxial therewith about which the seats 22 and the occupant frame 12 are supported for rocking movement relative to the ground in which the rocking axis remains fixed in relation to the seats 22.

Each of the two wheels 40 comprises a bicycle wheel including an axle 44 and a peripheral rim 46 supporting a tire thereon in which the rim and axle are connected by conventional spokes. At each end of the base frame 30 a first fork member 48 and a second fork member 50 are provided for connection to opposing ends of the axle 44 of the respective wheel received therebetween. The fork members support the axle to span between the bottom ends of the first and second fork members. The first and second fork members are joined to one another above the wheel and are joined to the ends of the upper and lower beams 32 and 34 so that the inner most fork member 48 defines at least a portion of a vertical end post connected between the free ends of the beams defining the base frame. The fork members remain fixed in relation to the base frame for maintaining the fixed orientation of the wheels to be supported for rolling movement in the longitudinal direction of the occupant frame.

A pair of support members 52 are provided for connection between the base frame 30 and the occupant frame for added structural rigidity. Each of the support members 52 is bolted to the base frame at the lower beam 34 centrally thereon to extend at an upward and outward incline within a vertical plane containing the occupant frame 12 to join the beam 14 of the occupant frame at a location spaced longitudinally outwardly from connection of the occupant frame to the base frame. The support members 52 span in opposing longitudinal directions from the base frame for connection towards opposing ends of the occupant frame 12. The support members 52 are also bolted in connection with the occupant frame for permitting the frames to remain selectively separable from one another by simply removing the threaded fasteners connecting the support members and connecting the frames to one another.

Brakes 54 are provided on each of the wheels 40 which are operable independently of one another for selectively braking the respective wheel 40 with which the brakes 54 are associated A cable actuator 56 connects each of the brakes 54 to a respective lever actuated control 58. One of the controls 58 is supported on one of the handle bars 28 adjacent a respective occupant seat 22 with the other control 58 being supported on the opposing handle bar adjacent the opposing occupant seat. A control 58 for at least one of the brakes 54 is thus provided adjacent each seat however the control at each seat is limited to controlling braking of only one wheel, which is different from the wheel controlled by the lever adjacent the other occupant seat.

Once assembled, a pair of occupants can be supported on the seats 22 to face one another with their hands on the respective handle bars. By pushing off the ground, the occupants can rock about the rocking axis common with the axis of the wheels. The rocking axis can be selected to remain fixed relative to the ground by braking both wheels, or alternatively only one of the wheels can be braked so that pushing off the ground in the longitudinal direction results in rotation of the device about a vertical axis of the wheel being braked. When both wheels remain unbraked, a combination of rocking motion about the common wheel axis, rotation about a vertical axis and linear translation along the ground in the longitudinal direction of rolling movement are all permitted.

When it is no longer desired to make use of the device, the wheels can be removed from the base frame by detaching the axles and the frames can be separated from one another along with the support members 52 by removing the threaded fasteners so that all of the components can be laid flat against the ground. Removing fasteners which secure the handle bars to the occupant frame is also required to permit the occupant frame to lay flat against the ground.

In further embodiments the rocking axis can be separated from the common axis of the wheels by providing a wheeled base frame which remains horizontal as it rolls across the ground upon which the occupant frame is pivoted. In addition further wheels may be provided and additional occupant seats may be located spaced from one another in the longitudinal direction or in the lateral direction at opposing ends of the occupant frame.

Since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein above described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of the claims without department from such spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense. 

1. A rocking toy device comprising: an occupant frame extending in a longitudinal direction; two occupant seats supported on the occupant frame spaced from one another in the longitudinal direction of the occupant frame; and a base frame supporting the occupant frame thereon, the base frame including wheels supporting the base frame for rolling movement along the ground; the occupant frame being supported on the base frame such that the occupant frame rocks about a rocking axis relative to the ground in which the rocking axis is generally horizontal, is transverse to the longitudinal direction of the occupant frame and is centrally located between the two occupant seats.
 2. The device according to claim 1 wherein the base frame and the occupant frame are fixed in orientation relative to one another.
 3. The device according to claim 2 wherein the wheels are rotatable about respective axes coaxial with the rocking axis of the occupant frame.
 4. The device according to claim 1 wherein the base frame and the occupant frame are joined with threaded fasteners so as to be selectively separable from one another.
 5. The device according to claim 1 wherein the base frame is elongate in a lateral direction oriented generally perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the occupant frame.
 6. The device according to claim 1 wherein the wheels on the base frame are spaced apart from one another in a lateral direction oriented generally perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the occupant frame.
 7. The device according to claim 1 wherein the wheels are rotatable about respective axes which are fixed in orientation in relation to the base frame.
 8. The device according to claim 1 wherein the wheels support the base frame for rolling movement along the ground in the longitudinal direction of the occupant frame.
 9. The device according to claim 1 wherein the wheels are rotatable about a common lateral axis which is oriented generally perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the occupant frame.
 10. The device according to claim 9 wherein the common lateral axis is centered in the longitudinal direction between the two occupant seats.
 11. The device according to claim 1 wherein the rocking axis is fixed in orientation relative to the occupant frame.
 12. The device according to claim 1 wherein the occupant seats are supported at opposing ends of the occupant frame.
 13. The device according to claim 1 wherein the occupant seats are oriented to face one another.
 14. The device according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the wheels includes brakes associated therewith.
 15. The device according to claim 1 wherein a plurality of the wheels include brakes associated respectively therewith in which the brakes of each wheel is operative independently of the brakes of other wheels.
 16. The device according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the wheels includes brakes associated therewith and wherein controls for the brakes are provided adjacent each occupant seat.
 17. The device according to claim 1 wherein there is provided two wheels supporting the base frame for rolling movement along the ground, each wheel including brakes associated therewith and a control for operating the brakes, one control being located adjacent one of the occupant seats and the other control being located adjacent the other occupant seat.
 18. A rocking toy device comprising: an occupant frame extending in a longitudinal direction; two occupant seats supported on the occupant frame spaced from one another in the longitudinal direction of the occupant frame; and a base frame supporting the occupant frame thereon, the base frame including wheels supporting the base frame for rolling movement along the ground; the occupant frame being supported on the base frame such that the occupant frame rocks about a rocking axis relative to the ground in which the rocking axis is generally horizontal, is transverse to the longitudinal direction of the occupant frame and is fixed in orientation relative to the occupant frame centrally between the 2 occupant seats.
 19. A rocking toy device comprising: an occupant frame extending in a longitudinal direction; two occupant seats supported on the occupant frame spaced from one another in the longitudinal direction of the occupant frame; and a base frame supporting the occupant frame in fixed relative orientation thereon, the base frame including wheels supporting the base frame for rolling movement along the ground; the wheels being rotatable about a common axis which is generally horizontal, is transverse to the longitudinal direction of the occupant frame and is centrally located between the two occupant seats such that the common axis defines a rocking axis about which the occupant frame rocks relative to the ground.
 20. The device according to claim 19 wherein at least one of the wheels includes brakes associated therewith and controls for controlling operation of the brakes the controls being located adjacent at least one of the occupant seats. 